Best Available Techniques (BAT)
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InfoMil supports the implementation of the BAT (Best Available Techniques)-reference documents (BREFs) in The Netherlands by integrating the BREFs in the Netherlands Emission Guidelines for Air (NeR) and the guidelines of the National Water Consultation (NWO). Furthermore, InfoMil provides information about the implications of the BREFs and the IPPC Directive to the competent authorities.
The European BREF project
Since October 1999, new (and substantially changed) installations must comply with the IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) Directive 2008/1/EC. Since October 2007, existing installations must comply. The IPPC Directive has been adopted in the Environmental Management Act and the Environmental Management Establishments and Licences Decree. Based on the IPPC Directive, permits for industrial installations must ensure that those installations will take all appropriate preventive measures against pollution, in particular through application of the Best Available Techniques (BAT).
Article 17.2 of the Directive requires the European Commission to organise an exchange of information between Member States and the industries concerned on best available techniques, associated monitoring and developments in them. The result of this information exchange is laid down in so-called BREFs (BAT Reference documents). For all industrial activities in Annex I of the IPPC Directive, a BREF has been drafted (in all 33 BREFs). The IPPC Directive commits Member States (and therefore indirectly the competent authorities) to take 'the BREFs into account', when writing the license conditions.
The European IPPC Bureau in Seville, Spain, facilitates the drafting of the BREFs. For each BREF, a Technical Working Group (TWG) with representatives of Member States, industry and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is set up. It is in the line of expectation that the BREFs will be revised regularly (approximately every 3 years).
The European Commission translates the executive summary of the BREFs in all languages of the European Commission. The complete texts of the BREFs are only available in English. Downloads are available on the internet site of the IPPC Bureau (choose activities).
The final draft is offered to the IEF (Information Exchange Forum), again representing Member States, industry and NGOs. The IEF gives an advice to the European Commission. The Commission adopts the BREF or not.
Implementation of the BREFs in The Netherlands
To operate in compliance with the IPPC Directive, Dutch industrial installations must have a license based on the Environmental Management Act and a license based on the Pollution of Surface Waters Act. Combined, these two licenses comply with the conditions of the IPPC Directive.
The Dutch government has chosen to implement the BREFs into existing guidelines: the Netherlands Emission Guidelines for Air (NeR) and the guidelines of the National Water Consultation (NWO). However, it is explicitly not the intention to 'split' the BREF into two parts and lose the integral character of the BREF.
The implementation of the BREFs in Dutch policy comprises 3 steps:
- comparison with existing Dutch law and policy
- consultation with the industry and the competent authorities
- implementation in the Netherlands Emission Guidelines for Air (NeR) and the guidelines of the National Water Consultation (NWO).
Paragraph 2.12 of the NeR gives an extensive explanation of the BREFs in the NeR. Furthermore, paragraph 2.12 states that the Dutch government has chosen to make no distinction between IPPC installations and non IPPC installations. As a result, the BREFs must be used as an information source to determine BAT for installations that have a capacity below than the tresholdvalue mentioned in Annex I. However, competent authorities should take into account the scale of the installation since the BREFs have not written for these installations.
Industrial Emissions Directive (IED): recast of IPPC-Directive
On 21 December 2007 the European Commission adopted a Proposal for a Directive on industrial emissions . The Proposal recasts seven existing Directives related to industrial emissions into a single clear and coherent legislative instrument. These include the IPPC Directive, the Waste Incinaration Directive (WID), the Large Combustion Plants Directive (LCP) and the Solvent Emissions Directive (SED). In December 2010 the "Solvent Emissions Directive (SED)" was published: Directie 2010/75/EU of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (Recast). The IED entered into force on 6 January 2011 and has to be transposed into national legislation by Member States by 7 January 2013. More information about the IED is available on the site of the European Commission.
The Netherlands welcomes the proposal for a Directive on Industrial Emissions. This is the next step towards greater sustainability in European industry. The position of the Dutch national government is stated in a position paper. Various studies support this position paper:
- IMPEL Project “Practicability and Enforceability of the IPPC Recast Proposal” ; VROM Inspectorate, Transport and Water Management Inspectorate , Institute for European Environmental Policy
- "Administratieve en bestuurlijke lasten herziening IPPC-Richtlijn" (Administrative burdens recast IPPC Directive - in Dutch, summary in English); SIRA Consulting in assingment of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (I&M)
- "Administratieve en bestuurlijke lasten Richtlijn Industriële Emissies - Eerste tranche: politiek Akkoord"; (Administrative burdens Industrial Emissions Directive Political Agreement - in Dutch, summary in English); SIRA Consulting in assingment of the Ministry of I&M
- "Administratieve en bestuurlijke lasten Richtlijn Industriële Emissies - Eindversie"; (Administrative burdens Industrial Emissions Directive - Final version - in Dutch, summary in English); SIRA Consulting in assingment of the Ministry of I&M
